Off to Nfld.

Two boats going by us on the last leg of the Race the Cape from Ingonish to our home yacht club in Sydney.  We finished the race but at times it was very challenging due to the light winds.  We kind of decided we would never race Cat's-Paw IV again unless we divested her off a lot of our "stuff" before the start.  

We are off to circumnavigate Nfld. in a few hours.  There is a good weather window with winds about 15 to 20 knots on the beam.  We should really fly. 

Race the Cape - Part II

Due to technical difficulties the post will be in two parts, the second part seems to be lost in cyber space?!? 

The next morning we had a sail past at St. Peter's to start off the festivities. 

The first leg of the race was from St. Peter's to Ben Eoin, about 26nm which can be forever in sailboat mileage when there is no wind.  We started the race at 1100 hours and the first Mark was approx. 5nm away.  We rounded that mark at 1700 hours which if you do the math is less than 1nm an hour which can be very frustrating.  We watched the spinnakers hanging from the masts like a bunch of deflated balloons, they called the race at the end of the 5 nam.  Miracles of miracles we managed to finish in third place in our division and got a lovely prize from North Sails, yippee!!

The second day of racing started off very slowly once again, but the wind switched and picked up at noon.  We raced from Ben Eoin to Baddeck.  The unique part of this leg was we had to stop, take our sails down go through a bridge which had be opened up for us and then put our sails up and restart the race.  Here we are preparing to go through the bridge. 

We had a curling buddy of mine on board for this leg.  Joanne is one the board of directors for Race the Cape and a dedicted volunteer, co-ordinating the volunteers who are driving the competitors around.  It was great to have her on board she was a great helmsman.  Here we are in Baddeck at the end of the race. 

We are having a layover day in Baddeck today.  Joanne and I went hiking to Usige Ban Falls, it was about 2.5 km enough to shake my muscles loose after the vigorous Celtic step I was attempting on the dance floor last night. Here are most of the yachts squished onto the Baddeck Yacht Club docks. 

Race the Cape

We are participating in Race the Cape, a 5 leg race around the Bras D'Or Lakes in Cape Breton, each leg is 25 - 35 mm long.  That can be a lifetime in sailing time.  The first day they called the race the at the first mark which was 5nm from the start. We started at 1100 hours and rounded the mark about 1700 hours which makes our speed less than 1nm an hour, quite painful at times.  We watched spinnakers deflate and just hang from the top of the mast like deflated balloons.  Unbelievably we managed to finish in third place in our division and get a prize, will wonders never cease!

The second evening we were in St. Peter's we went ashore to join a dock party and a Ceilah broke out.  The fiddler and the piper were pure Cape Breton, marvellous.

Back in Nova Scotia

We had a lovely day our last day in PEI.  We motored up the river to a town called Montague and lucked into Montague days.  There was free music, raft races, kids games and wonderful strawberry shortcake to be had.  

This is the view of the marina, with the stage with the free music off to the right. The next shot is of one of the homemade rafts that raced down the river, rather a unique design. 

The day after we had a great 50 nm crossing of the Northumberland Strait, which is between, PEI, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.  The wind was aft of beam at about 10 -15 knots, just about perfect.  

Here I am cleaning the stainless steel on the way from PEI to Nova Scotia, I hadn't done it yet this year and I wanted to boat to look it's best for when we go in Race the Cape, a six day race around the Bras  D'Or Lakes. 

We passed through the Canso Canal, between the Nova Scotia mainland and Cape Breton the next day and headed to Guysborough to visit our friend Kate from Yellowknife. Here we are just through the foggy locks and the bridge is swinging shut.  All traffic too and from Cape Breton had to pause for little old us, I always find that an unusual fact.  Why not make us wait until there is another boat to go through, pretty cool !! Kate is involved with the recreation department and has got a grant to run a sailing school there.  She needed some help with the light on her mast and in short order I was hanging off the top, unscrewing the light and rewiring it, putting butts on electrical wires and shrink wrapping them with a propane torch. Lucky I didn't burn myself up or drop the darn thing and brain someone down below.

We are now in St. Peter's just in the Bras D'Or Lakes after spending the night in Arichat on Isle Madame.  There we had a lovely walk down a rocky beach, just us the rocks and the waves.  Almost at the end of the beach Barry found a message in a bottle.  Someone in PEI had put it in the there in April, 2014 and asked that whoever found it let her know where and when they found it.  It was quite the coincidence the next day when I checked my e-mail to find a message from a fellow in Somalia that found the bottle I tossed in the water when we crossed the equator near the Maldives in 2011.  Who would think that the two incidences would happen so close together.   There is one more bottle I tossed in, in 2008 when we crossed the equator going to the Galapagos, I wonder if anyone will ever find it!! 

This is our passage through the St. Peter's Canal, the entrance from the Atlantic side, exiting the locks and the swing bridge still opened up after our passage. The canal was blasted out of the rock in 1869 to provide a route into the Bras D'Or Lakes from the Atlantic. Before that they used to pull boats along a portage over a road of logs to get them from one side to the other. There is a very nice Marina here with showers, laundry and acces to St. Peter's.  I just visited the German bakery and bought some yummy sunflower bread.  The festivities start tomorrow so we have some chores up our own mast to try and get done this afternoon. 

That is me being outstanding in a field of PEI potatoes on Canada Day 2015. We landed in PEI at sundown on June 30 so here we are trying to find a place to meet up with some old friends from Yellowknife, Janet and Kieth Sanderes.  This was not the lace to do it.  We got back in the dinghy and went another 500m. down the shoreline and found a spot that had a road down to the shore.  We went exploring and discovered and old church that was a very good landmark where we arranged t meet the next day.  There was also a museum close by and we learned the history d Malpeque Bay which is famous for it's oysters.  

We had a great visit with our buddies the next day, saw there big 7 bedroom house, had a lovely lunch at a local pub.  We manage to fit in some laundry and some grocery shopping.  On our way back to the boat the dinghy motor, which has refused to get better despite Mark working very hard on her, decided to quit.  It was very windy and we were about a mile and a half from the boat and there was no way we would be able to row there.  Luckily with great fore site Barry had put a spare spark plug in his backpack so while I threw out the dinghy anchor to save the hard earned distance we had already made Barry changed the spark plug.  Bless her the motor started first pull and we putted slowly to th boat,  whew!!  We will remember the hand held radio the next time we have to go any distance.  We have both agreed that our car is going to turn into a new motor.  We plan to sell said car in the middle of July, I think a reliable dinghy motor is essential !

Guess what landed in our cockpit??  When we were sailing out of Malpeque Bay a fishing boat passed fairly close by going full speed, rocking the boat quite a bit.  I didn't mind they are working folks, if it had been a pleasure boater I would have been up in arms.  Anyway, another boat up pulls up beside us and apologizes, saying those guys aren't from this harbour and they were really rude.  We thank him for saying so and he asks if we would like a lobster?  Well I tell you, you would never catch Barry or I turning them down, so he threw two f them into the cockpit.  Were they ever good, we have them with a glass of white wine for lunch as we sailed down the north Shore of PEI.  We are now in a harbour called Georgetown on the Southeast shore, it is nice and warm, almost hot and we just finished an ice cream, life is good.  We will spend another day or two on the island then head back over to Cape Breton and go through the Canso Causeway, making our way int the Bra D'Or Lakes.  

Isles de Madeleine

We took a long walk down the beach yesterday (close to seven nautical miles) it was a lovely day and I didn't have to put my hoodie on, yeah! In the first picture you can see the dinghy with the boat anchored in the background.  We went ashore at low tide and had to row the last 10 meters to shore, it was so shallow.  

We found this stump on the shore, since the islands have been denuded of trees for the most part we speculated where the stump was from, I figured Nfld but Barry thinks from somewhere on the St. Lawrence River. We hope to take the bus tomorrow to see more of the island and then head over to PEI on Tuesday, a westerly is supposed to blow.   They are predicting gale force gusts off the 

Cape Breton highlands again tomorrow so we will stay put!

I said to Barry the other day that I never thought we would be sailing around the Gulf of St. Lawrence, they had a sign up the other day that said Jacques Cartier, so we are definitely following in some famous footsteps, Jacques, John Cabot, Captain Cook and that is only the C's!!!

We are safe and sound in Les Isles Madelienes, which belong to Quebec and are about 50 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, who knew??  The are a series of mostly sandy dunes connected together.  We haven't learned too much about them yet but hope to remedy this in the next couple of days.  We are having a hard time believing it is the end of June because it feels like Oct. very cold and windy !! 

On the Move Again

             Cat's-Paw IV looking good heading for the water with her new bottom paint. 

The boat is in the water, no drama putting her in thank heavens !!  Our summer plans are to head to PEI and then go in a week long race called Race the Cape which takes place in the Bra D'Or Lakes and area.  About the middle of July we will head over to Nfld and circumnavigate that province.  Barry commented that we will be among an elite group that have circumnavigated both Vancouver Island and Newfoundland in the same boat.  

We will return to Sydney and say farewell to Mark, Jen and the boys and head south.  We have to stay north of Cape Hatteras until the end of Nov. so will take some time exploring Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, etc.  We are thinking that Cuba may be a place to spend some time this winter but we have made no definite plans yet.  

We left Sydney, NS on Father's Day and spent Sunday night and Monday in Dingwall.  It poured all day Monday so we hunkered down aboard.  Today we hit some big winds going around Cape North at the top of Cape Breton and then motored into the wind to get to Chetticamp. We will stay here for a couple of days, big winds are predicted for tomorrow.  We hope to get to the Magdelene Islands out in   the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Thursday.  The winds look favourable at the moment.  I hope to be able to keep everyone up to date.  

Naples

My last tour was a place just outside of Naples at the city of Pompei which was covered by ash and mud from when the nearby mountain of Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. Mom did not come as it said there was extensive walking on very uneven surfaces.  The city was buried under 18 feet of mud and the mud acted as a great preservative so the site is in pretty good shape.  There were still some frescoes on the walls and original mosaic tiles on the floors.  Lots of the statues and bigger frescoes were plundered and removed from the sites when it was first discovered. 

Definite chariot tracks

The streets were made of big flat stones.  You could see where the chariots had worn groves in the stones, in my minds eye they were rolling down the roads.  At one point you could see small bits of white marble in the streets, the guide explained that the moonlight would light the way home when it glistened off the marble bits in the dark. At the crosswalks there were three or four large raised stepping stones so your feet wouldn't get wet in the sewage that was flushed down the streets.  

The ruins were very extensive and you could spend days exploring them.  

We were shown the highlights, a nobleman's home with two entrances, servants quarters on the upper floors and an inner courtyard, an restaurant or wine bar, where there were holes to accommodate the large amphora that held the wine, and the plaster casts of people's bodies that had been encased in mud or overcome with fumes. 

We also got to see a coliseum where slaves were made to fight.  The doors into their cells were very short.  It was all very fascinating.  

We were also given a tour of a place where cameo's were made.  It was very hard to resist but as usual I was attracted to a very expensive piece and cooler heads prevailed.  After the tour was over I took a port shuttle over to where the main tourist attractions in the city were aesible by foot.  I wandered around with no agenda and no map and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  

My lunch spot. 

I stopped at a little outdoor restaurant and had a pizza, a glass of red wine and some pistachio gelato!! The strait narrow alleys which serve as side streets were amazing, notice all the laundry hanging from the balconies. There were a lot of scooters around and if the weather was good it seems as if that would a very good method of motorized transportation. 

Imagine driving a scooter or a chariot down these extremely narrow streets. 

I returned to the ship and an hour later Mom came back from her motorized bus tour.  She was pretty tuckered out.  We left for Rome at supper time and we had booked ship transportation to the airport, so the leave taking of the ship was easy and seamless.  We got on the plane in Rome and it was a nonstop flight to Toronto.  Mom's luggage did not show up there so it was a bit of a hassle dealing with that but she was heading home and has lots of clean clothes to change into. 

The Greek Islands of Rhodes and Santorini

Rhodes was very interesting as soon as we docked we could see the ancient walled city that the Knights of St. John occupied.

We took a tour to see the remains of the 4th century BC at the Acropolis of Lindos which was an hours bus ride from the town of Rhodes. It was at the top of a fairly large hill and there was an opptunity to ride a donkey up.

  I tried to convince Mom that was the way to go but she figured riding the donkey might hurt her more than walking up the hill.  We started up near the front of our group and as Mom had to stop and rest the group passed us, then another group went by but out guide was just beginning out spiel as we arrived so Mom did wonderfully.  This path had small rounded pebbles cemented together so we were very thankful that it was not and had not rained in the last few days, it would have been very slippery.  

The fortifications at the top were the most impressive we have seen yet.  The ruins of the temples are in various stages of restoration.  

I think Mom felt a real sense of accomplishment when she was walking around the top and one gentleman told her that she was an inspiration to the rest of the group!! It was an absolutely lovely setting and I could see in my mind's eye Cat's - Paw IV anchored were that sailboat is in the picture

We walked back down and through the village, after that you had to walk back up the other side of the hill to get to the highway, fortunately there were taxis and we opted for that choice.  

Today we visited the volcanic island of Santorini, what a gorgeous spot.  We anchored in the middle of the caldera and were surrounded by the remains of the mountain that blew it's top in the 4th century BC.mmmost of the towns and villages are purchased on the rim of the main island.  When you look across the bay you think could be snow since all the buildings are white.  

When the volcano blew it's top it covered up the town of Lindos, the ruins are being in the process of being uncovered.  The whole site is under a roof so it comfortable to view out of the sun and wind.

We then went to the museum to see replicas of some Frecos that were recovered almost intact because a river of mud had encased them for centuries. 

The tour was finished at this point but a couple from California asked me if I wanted to share a ride over to the other side of the island to see another town, and I figured why not.  Mom had opted to stay aboard today to rest a little.  

I chose to walk back down the hill rather than take the cable car down.  There were certainly a lot less tourists on this particular path than there had been in the towns!

Turkey and back to Greece

                               

Yesterday we went to Kasadasi, Turkey to see what was. Il led as one of the best preserved ancient cities in the world.  It certainly lived up to it's billing it was huge and quite marvellous.  Unfortunately, I forgot the IPad so I used Mom's camera and at the moment I am unable to transfer the pictures, so I can not offer any photographic proof.  Our guide was great and we managed to be the first group through the ruins in the morning so there was no one in front of us so the picture taking was ideal.  There were terraced houses, temples, a library and baths as well as aqueducts and stone arches that were built into the hillside to prevent erosion.  The best part was that we started at the top and the bus met us at the bottom so there was no up hill walking for Mom. 

We returned to the city of Kasadasi and we were taken to a carpet demonstration, it was definitely a learning experience and there was no hard sell. That was not the case once we were on our own, the vendors were annoyingly persistent. Mom wandered into a leather shop and came out with a beautiful red leather jacket that fits her like a glove and is even reversible.  It looks great on her, the fellow was not satisfied with that good sale but tried to pressure me into buying one,  I tried a few on just for forms sake but managed to resist all temptations. My resistance weakened as we walked past a shoe shop and I realized that the white shoes I had bought in Mexico 8 years ago were in need of replacement. I came out with a very snazzy new pair whIch I managed to get reduced from the most ridiculous price of 120 to an acceptable 40 Euros.  We had a very nice Turkish lunch and then Mom returned to the ship.  I had some post cards to mail and went on a mission to find the post office, a dozen enquiries later I found it and the confused postal clerk took my cards that had Italian stamps on them with some reluctance. 

 It will be interesting to here if they ever get to their destination.  I wandered down to the marina and got some information about dockage fees and a list of marinas in Turkey, nothing like a little advance planning. 

 We are just skimming the surface of these places and they are well worth further extensive explorations. 

Today we had a tour of the Greek island of Mykanos.  It is a tourist Mecca and at one time was the playground of the Onassi clan and it became a stop for the internationall jet set.  I must admit I felt a little like a cow today being herded here and there.  Get on the bus, a five minute stop here, take pictures, back on the bus, on to the next place, a restroom stop, pictures, back on the bus to the next spot not something I truly enjoyed, although I did dip my feet into the Agean Sea!!!  We did stop at a Greek Orthodox Church that was so ornate inside  it was hard to believe that the small island could afford to pay for all the finery.

Once we returned to the main town I wondered around, found the windmills and managed to resist all the gorgeous hats that were on sale. 

 It was fun winding in and out the narrow alleys and looking at the gorgeous and pricey linen and cotton clothing.  

We have been enjoying the food and the entertainment on board.  Each night we sit with a different group of people, there are lots of Australians onboard and they generally seemed to have booked a 22 day cruise, Canadians and Americans make up the majority of the rest of the ship's complement.  We have met some real characters and have had some very lively conversations, there has been only one fellow I would not care to share a table with again. Mom has been enjoying the cold soups which are quite lovely and I find the variety of dinner choices to be excellent. We are off to the island of Rhodes tomorrow.